Fools of Fate
by Aikiko-Ashra
Summary: Tenten and Neji have been teammates and sparring partners for years, but what happens when a stranger arrives at the village and becomes attracted to Tenten? Who is this powerful new man in Konoha? I really suck at summaries so please try and read it anyw
1. Prologue

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Prologue

He closed his eyes as the cool breeze washed over his pale face, moving the single tear that had slipped from his pupiless, jaded eyes. He stood at the rooftop of the hospital, his back leaned against the metal railing, supporting his body. The door began to creak open as a man with dark brown hair and gentle brown eyes walked in, staring straight at him. Neji quickly wiped away the tear that had left a moist sensation on his cheek, he couldn't break down, not in front of this man who was his rival. A rival in both love and war.

"How is she?" asked Neji, staring the man in the eye.

"She's still in critical condition. She might not survive, neither may..."

Neji put his hand up, stopping his speech. "This would never have happened," he said, "if I had been true to myself. Maybe than her and my—"

"Don't say my, for all we know it may be mine. I loved her just as much as you do, and I won't let go of that link that may connect me to her."

Neji paused, then nodded, understanding what the man meant. "But I won't give up, even if it is yours," he stated, a promising tone ringing throughout his voice.

The man nodded back at him, accepting the challenge.

A rush of wind swept pass them, carrying with it brushes of dead brown leaves. They both stood still, enveloped in silence, the same memory flickering through both of their minds, recalling them to the beginning.

"I remember when I met her, and you, it was mere coincidence," reminisced the man. He stared out at the clouds that floated by carelessly on top of them, acting as if the world hadn't stopped, hadn't changed at all, even though their lives had been turned upside down.

"Hai, I remember as well. But I regret it. I wish we hadn't run into you, I wish we never met you, then nothing would have changed between us," he informed. He shook his head and closed his eyes, remembering the day as clearly as if it had just been minutes ago, not years.

The man smiled at him, even though he could not see, "but I don't regret it, because it had brought her to me."


	2. Chapter One

The scorching sun beated through the thickets of trees, shining upon two ninjas, unaware of the heat. A string of kunais flew out a girl's hand. She wore a pink Chinese tanktop and a pair of black capris, the sharp blades sliced through the air, heading for a boy with long black hair, tied to a loose ponytail at the end. He swiftly dodged two that attacked him from the left, and smacked the other two away with the back of his bandaged hand. The girl smirked, pulling two scrolls out from the back of her pocket, she threw them up into the air and soared with them up into the sky. The scrolls encircled her body like a cage as she grabbed fistfuls of weapons from the enchanted parchment. The hundreds of weapons raced through the wind, heading for the boy. Almost immediately, he held both of his hands out and began to spin in a continuous rotation.

"HAKKESHOU KAITEN!" he shouted. The weapons flew in different directions, thrusted away by the chakra filled rotation that was his ultimate defense.

The girl fell to the ground smiling, "Your reflexes are even faster today than they were yesterday," she commented. She picked up the two scrolls, and the real fallen kunais that hadn't vanished after the spell.

The rotation stopped. He secretly smiled at what she told him, "Come on," he said, "Gai-Sensei and Lee are probably waiting for us already.

"Hnh," she nodded, falling into steps with him as they walked out of the forest.

"It's scorching hot out here!" cried Tenten, "I bet you I could fry and egg if I put it on the ground right now," she remarked, shielding her eyes from the glaring sun. "Aren't you hot?" she asked.

He ignored her, heading for the spot that Gai-Sensei and Lee stood, waiting behind the Academy. "YOSH! You two are finally here! Today is the Springtime of youth! The Mizukage is coming to visit! We will amaze him with our amazing skills and make this entire west side of Konoha look amazing! I'll definitely beat you this time Kakashi!" shouted Gai, thrusting his fist into the air. Neji scoffed as Tenten sighed.

The old Mizukage of the water village had just retired, appointing a new Mizukage to the position. The new Mizukage, who, when he went into office, had immediately tried to make peace with all the neighboring nations. He was supposed to arrive in Konoha the next day to speak to the Godaime and set up a peace treaty, so all the genin teams had been forced with the duty to make the city look presentable. Kakashi's team had been sent to the north side, Kurenai's to the south, and Asuma's to the east. How awfully boring and pointless this was going to be, thought Tenten.

"Gai-Sensei, you will definitely beat Kakashi-Sensei today! We will make this sparkling clean and spotless!" shouted Lee over enthusiastically as usual. Tenten sighed, Didn't he understand that they couldn't just make it spotless, they actually had to make it look appealing? she wondered. But she was okay, she had grown used to Lee's enthusiasm long ago.

"Yes! Of course Lee! My wonderful student!" cried Gai-Sensei, hugging Lee. But somehow, the fact that Gai-Sensei and Lee could make the sun set any time of the day they wanted and have dolphins jump behind them never ceased to amaze her. Suddenly, they stopped and stared at Neji in question. All three of them were visibly hot, with beats of sweat dripping down their foreheads, but Neji seemed unfazed by the heat, not a single drop of sweat slipped from his face. "Aren't you..." began Lee, still hugging onto Gai.

"...hot?" finished Gai.

"Iie," answered Neji, his arms folded. They both stared at him with amazed looks on their face.

On the outside, Neji seemed undisturbed by the weather, but on the inside he was ready to die from all the heat that his light, brown jacket was capturing and keeping. In the winter his jacket acted as a wonderful insulator, capturing the heat and keeping it in to warm him up, but in the summer it was a nightmare, burning his body up to a temperature beyond belief. Nobody realized how sweaty he was inside the jacket since he never took it off, and he wasn't planning to let anybody know anytime soon, but inside, he was like a waterfall about to explode. Secretly, Neji grimaced as he lagged behind Gai-Sensei and Lee with Tenten, Maybe he wouldn't wear the heavy jacket tomorrow.

"Mizukage-sama, wait up!" cried a girl with dark, brown hair that fell to her shoulders. "Should we not visit the Hokage first, before we go anywhere else?" she asked, catching up to a man who wore a black turtleneck shirt and a long pair of black pants.

"Come on Rei, don't you want to explore the city first? I want to be able to walk through this city like a regular tourist before they find out I'm the Mizukage," grinned a tall, dark brown haired man. He had a gentle, kind looking face, and dark brown eyes, that seemed soft and understanding.

The girl blushed and nodded, "H-Hai!" she cried as she followed him while he walked through the city.


	3. Chapter Two

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Chapter Two

A cool breeze blissfully blew past the streets of Konoha, gently cooling the burning roads and citizens.

"Phew! The sun's finally setting!" exclaimed Tenten, wiping beads of sweat off of her forehead with the back of her hand.

"Hn." Neji nodded, also grateful for the incoming breeze. "Well, I'm almost done. You want to go eat or something?" she asked, adjusting the strings and ribbons that she had put onto the west gate sign.

"Yosh! You've done a wonderful job today Tenten!" exclaimed Gai. He looked around and stared at the street that had transformed so much in one day; from dirty and dusty, to sparkling clean but plain, and finally to a work of art.

"Thanks," she smiled, looking down at them from the stairs, remembering how Gai, Lee, and Neji had set about, thinking of only cleaning.

"Now, for all the hard work that you three have done today, I will treat all of you to takoyaki!" shouted Gai, thrusting his fist into the air.

"Yes Gai-Sensei, after that we shall run a hundred laps around Konoha to make up for the precious hours of training that we've lost today!" shouted Lee, his eyes shining with stars.

"What a wonderful idea! Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Gai-Sensei!" Finally, the two of them grabbed each other into a tight hug.

'Yeah,' thought Tenten, 'definitely not going to be joining them.' "Can't Tenten announced, "I've got to fix the electricity in my house. I can't live another day without light, water, and an air conditioner."

"How 'bout Neji then? You're going to be training with us right?" asked Lee hopefully.

Neji's eyes involuntarily flinched. He was not planning to go along with Lee and Gai's insane training schedule just yet. "Iie, I have to help Tenten fix the utility box," he replied, his arms crossed.

""But why can't Tenten do that?" cried Lee.

Tenten took one of the bulbs in her hand and threw it at Lee's head. "Baka! How do you expect me to see through the utility box and see which wire's fried?" she demanded.

"Oh," he mouthed, rubbing the sore spot on his head with his hand.

"Wouldn't it be easier if you just got somebody to come and fix it?" asked Gai.

"You know I can't afford that. Just paying for food and bills is already killing me. So, gotta be as cheap as I can get," she stated.

"Oh," mouthed Gai, remembering that she lived alone.

"Are you done yet?" asked Neji, starting to feel hungry.

"Yeah," she answered, putting one final touch onto the gate sign. She crouched her legs, ready to jump off the stairs when...

"WATCH Y----

Tenten's eyebrow cocked up in confusion. Suddenly, she realized what Neji was shouting about, her leg had gotten caught onto one of the wires that she had hung up. Her body dangled upside down, smacking against the stairs, which sent it collapsing to the floor. Tenten pulled a kunai out of her pocket, ready to cut the wire when it let her go. She began to fall, unable to react fast enough to stop the collision. Gai, Lee, and Neji rushed forwards ready to catch her when...

Tenten's eyes were clamped shut, her lids sealed tightly to her face. Finally, after several moments passed, she realized that she hadn't smacked onto the ground, instead she had smacked right into somebody's arms. Her hand brushed past the person's hand. This must be a woman, she decided , because the person's skin was as soft as silk and... 'That's strange,' she noted, ...as cold as water. She looked up, it wasn't a woman who had caught her, neither was it Gai, Lee, or Neji, it was a man with dark brown hair and eyes.

"Are you okay?" he asked, smiling kindly.

She quickly shut her mouth, realizing that she had been gawking at him for the last minute. She nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

He grinned and gently set her down like she was a princess. Gai, Lee, and Neji quickly rushed to her side.

"TENTEN!" shouted Gai, tears streaming down his face as he grabbed her and hugged her. "Are you okay? I was so worried that you'd shatter your poor arms!" he cried.

Tenten winced, so she wouldn't be able to have 100 accuracy if her arms were broke, but wouldn't it matter more is she had died?

"Gai-Sensei," called Neji, staring at the two of them.

"Yes Neji?" asked Gai, hugging Tenten even tighter.

"You're choking her," he informed. Tenten's face was a plum, unable to breath.

"Tenten! Are you okay!" cried Gai, pulling her away from the hug, and started shaking her senseless instead.

"N-neji," she called. "H-help."

Neji sighed, seeing Tenten's body swing back and forth. He walked up to the both of them and grabbed Tenten's hand, pulling her away from Gai's grasp.

"Huh?" questioned Gai, finally noticing that he was no longer shaking Tenten, but Lee, who had been the replacement.

Tenten turned around, looking at her rescuer from before, ignoring Gai's constant cries. "Thanks for saving me," she informed.

He smiled at her, "No problem, it's my job to help those I see in need," he told her. "My name's Yoshiro, and that's Rei," he informed, pointing to the girl who stood behind him.

"My name's Tenten, that my sensei, Gai, and my two comrades, Neji Hyuuga, and Rock Lee."

"Nice to meet all of you," he told them. "I couldn't help overhearing that you guys were planning to head to a restaurant, and it just so happens that me and my friend here was looking for a place to eat. So might I ask you where's a good restaurant that we should head to?" he asked, studying the pink Chinese shirt Tenten wore, and her black capris. 'She doesn't look like a native here. Actually, she dresses like we do,' he noted, turning around to look at Rei, who wore a silky, white, long sleeve, Chinese shirt.

"Why, why don't you come with us to eat Konoha's best takoyaki?" asked Gai, jumping into the conversation.

"Are you sure that we won't disturb you?" he asked, noting that maybe people in Konoha dressed in different styles, considering that both Lee and Gai were wearing green spandex suits.

"Of course!" shouted Gai. "YOSH! Let's go eat then! I'm starving!" bellowed Gai, not waiting for the man to agree, before leading the team to the restaurant. Gai and Lee stood side by side, guiding the crowd, while Yoshiro and Tenten walked behind them, enraptured in a conversation that they had just initiated. Rei and Neji trailed behind them, silent, looking like escorts for the two people ahead of them.

Neji glared at the back of Yoshiro's head, 'He seems suspicious,' thought Neji, 'And he doesn't look familiar, he musn't be from here. He's wearing a black turtleneck shirt and long sleeve pants on a hundred and five degrees day, and still seems unfazed,' he noted, calculating the information in his head, not considering the fact that he also wore a heavy jacket and looked cool. But the fact that the man looked suspicious wasn't what bothered Neji the most, but it was the vibe that he could feel coming from the man and Tenten as they talked, seeming almost as if they connected. Neji's eyes scrunched up, angry that he could not decipher what he was starting to feel.

**I know that this is a sucky chapter but bear with me, because I'm kind of brain dead tonight. I'll try to make the next chapter more interesting and juicy. Please R&R! That would make me the most happy person alive! I had the fifth chapter written before this one for some reason. Lol. R&R I repeat.**


	4. Chapter Three

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Chapter Three

The sky began to have the smallest hint of darkness, as it's colors morphed from orange to red and purple. Loud laughter and shouts erupted from a small, crowded restaurant, where Gai, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Yoshiro, and Rei sat, eating takoyaki.

"So where are you from?" asked Tenten, stuffing a piece of meat into her mouth. Neji sat next to her, closing his eyes as he ate. He looked uninterested, but he was actually listening intently to the conversations that surrounded him.

"I'm from Kirigakure, the Land of Mist and Fog," he answered, licking off a slight dot of sauce that stuck to his lips. He sat across from Tenten, studying her cheerful brown eyes.

"Then you must be here for the peace treaty!" interjected Gai excitedly. "Is the Mizukage here then?" he asked, his eyes sparkling.

"Iie," chuckled Yoshiro nervously, "He's not supposed to arrive till tomorrow, we arrived ahead of everyone," he laughed. Rei determinedly looked down at her plate, chewing furiously at her bottom lip. "But..." he started, turning back around to look at Tenten, "... how would you feel to be an escort to show the Mizukage around? Once he gets here that is?" he asked.

Tenten's eyes widened in shock, and Neji's eyelids flapped open at the question. "W-what?" she asked, surprised.

"How would you feel escorting the Mizukage?" he repeated, grinning.

Tenten's face brightened, and then suddenly dropped. She stuffed another piece of meat into her mouth. "Sorry, I can't do it. I have to train for the chunin exams," she replied, refusing to make eye contact.

"Yes Tenten! That's the spirit! After four long years the chunin exams are finally starting again! We can finally officially be chunins!" cried Lee, tears streaming down his face. Neji nodded, also glad that they had finally started the exams again.

Since war with the Sound, Konoha had stalled all chunin and jonin exams, considering the fact that they could not waste the time nor the manpower. Neji, Lee, and Tenten were all seventeen, all a year ahead of the rookie nines, but were still considered genins because of this very fact. Though they were still supposedly genins, it did not bother the Hokage to assign them with missions fit for both chunins and jonins.

"I see," grimaced Yoshiro, but he soon smiled again. "Good luck then, I hope all three of you pass, when is the exams by the way?" he asked.

"Two months from now," answered Gai, looking at the ceiling, staring in a far away place that only he and his team could see.

"We'll definitely make it as Chunin this year," declared Lee, taking one last bite from his food.

"Definitely," repeated Tenten, her head nestled on top of her hands.

"Hn." Neji closed his eyes, also envisioning the future that would soon be in his grasp.

A waiter came bustling to their table, breaking them all away from their trance as he dropped the check. "Here's you bill," he announced, handing it to Gai. The waiter walked away, bumping into Gai, who in turned bumped into Rei, who bumped into Yoshiro, who's hand smacked against the burning stove top.

Tenten, Lee, and Gai's mouth dropped open in blatant horror, while Neji's eyes seemed unmoving. The stove top sizzled, as if water had been dropped upon the surface. Yoshiro removed his hand, unscathed.

"Are you okay?" asked Rei, a worried expression streaked across her face.

"Hai, I'm fine Rei, don't look so worried," he smiled.

Neji's eyes scrunched up in suspicion, the man had just touched a burning stove top and came out unharmed, somehow that did not seem normal.

Gai's mouth was still gaping in horror. "I'm so sorry!" he bellowed, causing everybody in the restaurant to turn their heads and look at him.

Yoshiro smiled kindly and said, "No harm done. Don't worry, I'm fine," he assured.

After several minutes of Gai's continuos apology, they finally departed from the restaurant.

"I'm pretty sure I'll see you guys around some time soon," grinned Yoshiro, before he and Rei parted ways with the team.

Gai and Lee headed home while Neji and Tenten headed to her home. The sky had turned completely dark. A full moon hung in the sky, veiled by dark clouds. "Let's hurry," Neji rushed, walking ahead of her.

"Hai!" shouted Tenten, running to catch up to him. They arrived at her home several minutes later. It was a small home with a single room and a kitchen. She used to live in a larger home, but when her parents died, she had moved to a smaller one. The Hokage had supported her for a while, until she had deemed that it was necessary for her to support herself.

"Where's the utility box?" asked Neji as they entered the house. It was pitch black inside, even with Neji's twenty/twenty vision he could barely see.

"Over there," she informed. Neji secretly wondered how she had lived like this for the past week.

"Where?" he asked, unable to see where she was pointing to.

"Over here," she said. She tried to walk past him, but instead tripped over his foot, heading for the floor. He tried to catch her, but ended up falling too. Tenten could feel his body smack on top of hers. Her heart raced and her breaths came out in short, shallow gasps. He pushed his arms up from the floor, caging her body in the middle. Even in the darkness, Tenten could see a glint of his milky white eyes. His hair brushed against her cheek. She could feel the heat of his body, hovering over her. The feel of his skin brushing against hers. Her heart pounded against her breast cage. She couldn't help herself. She had always been in love with this cold-hearted comrade who had never reciprocated her feelings. They stayed like that for a minute. The moon finally broke through the clouds and shined over their faces, revealing the look in both of their eyes. Tenten's dark, brown eyes moved, nervous as she stared into his gray, moon-like eyes. She gasped, surprised to see a sudden longing look flash across his face, but the look slipped away just as fast as it came.

**Yeah, this chapter didn't turn out as I hoped it would either. Tears. I already have the fifth chapter written, but not the next one. The next one is going to be pretty short though. It's going to go back to the present for a short while. But please R&R.**


	5. Chapter Four

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By: Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

_**In this chapter it goes back to the beginning, which was the prologue!**_

Chapter Four

Back to the Present 2

Neji gritted his teeth, thinking about the women who laid in the medical emergency room. She had been in there for the last fourteen hours, experiencing heavy blood loss, a puncture to the lung, and various other problems. Many expert medical nins were operating on her, including Shizune and Tsunade, but even with their help it seemed that matters were close to hopeless.

The man next to him sighed, brushing his long fingers through the dark, brown strands of his hair. The both of them stood there, completely nerve wrecked, waiting to hear the results of the operation. "This is driving me to my wits end," the man informed. Neji nodded, understanding the impact of those words. The man next to him was almost never nervous, always calm, collected, and kind. The man clasped his hands together. He leaned his head on top of his hands, looking like he was praying. "For some reason, even though I'm so worried, I can't stop thinking about the past."

Neji stood still. The man had just voiced the very same thing running through his head. Ever since he had rushed the women to the hospital he could not help thinking about all that had happened. Suddenly, a question seemed to strike him, one that he had had before but never asked aloud. "Why did you lie to us? Why didn't you tell us who you were the first time we met you?" asked Neji, a memory flickering across his face. To him, he had always believed that if she had known who the man really was, then she would never have had associated with him so closely.

"Maybe, because I did find myself attracted to her. She was different from everybody else I knew. She was unique. I didn't want her to treat me differently because of who I was. But of course, that was stupid of me to even consider, because it wouldn't matter to her who I was, she would still treat me the same as she always has," the man replied, a dreamy look in his eyes. "And I guess, that just made me love her even more."

Neji closed his eyes. The man was right. Even if she had known who he was, she would have treated him no differently. No matter how he tried to twist the truth, it kept hitting him in the face. He wanted to blame other things, other people for what had happened, but in all reality, it was what he didn't do that caused everything.

**Okay, I know this really sucks, and everything, but please R&R and let me know what you think anyways. PLZ!**


	6. Chapter Five

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Chapter Five

"Tsunade-sama! Mizukage-sama is here!" exclaimed Shizune, slapping the heavy doors to Tsuande's study open.

Tsunade put down her cup of sake and peered at Shizune through her blue orbs. "W-who's h-here?" she hiccupped. Her face was flush and red.

Shizune's hands flew up to her head and screamed, "Argh! You've been drinking again? The Mizukage is here fore the peace treaty and you're drinking! Tsunade-sama!" cried Shizune, exasperated. She rushed to Tsunade's side and tried to grab the sake bottle away from her. Tsunade placed a firm grip on the bottle, refusing to let go.

"Let go Shizune," ordered Tsunade, taking another sip from her cup.

"But Tsunade-sama! We can't let the Mizukage see you like this! Drunk and still drinking! What if he sees what you usually look like! It'd be so shameful!" shouted Shizune, gripping her head so hard, that it was a wonder that it hadn't exploded yet. "What will he think of us! He'll end the treaty, go back to the water country and declare war on us before we know it!" A vein stood out on the side of Tsunade's temple as she heard her student rant and rave about her bad habits. "We can't let him see you like this!" repeated Shizune, running wild around the room.

"He already has," replied the blonde woman, pulling out another cup from her desk drawer.

"Huh?" questioned Shizune, stopping dead in her steps.

"I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow," stated Tsunade, pouring sake into the second cup.

A smile spread across the young man's face who stood beside he open doors. "I just wanted to be able to explore the village before everybody finds out who I am," he answered. He walked forwards and sat down across from her. A girl with short, brown hair that fell to her shoulders stood next to him.

"Sake?" she asked. He nodded. She threw him the cup of sake and he caught it, not a single drop missing. "Obviously, Yoshiro, you're not the little kid I remember who tailed the past Mizukage like a puppy," she commented. "Actually, I'm surprised you accepted the post as Mizukage." she informed.

He took a sip of the sake. "Of course I've changed since you've seen me the last time, when I was young, but only physically, because inside, I'm still the same," he sighed. "I accepted the job as Mizukage because the former had requested it of me," he confessed. He brushed his fingers through the dark, brown strands of hair.

"So he still controls you, even after all these years," she commented, closing her eyes and, instead of drinking from the cup, she grabbed the bottle and gulped the whole thing down in one go.

He shook his head and changed the subject, "Of course, I'm also surprised when I heard that you had become Hokage. I didn't think you'd accept even if they had bound and gagged you to drag you back."

"Thing've changed," she admitted, shrugging. "About the treaty..." she started.

"We will sign the papers exactly a month from tomorrow, and no, this is not a trap that otosan has plottted," he answered, taking one last short sip from the small, ceramic cup.

Tsunade nodded and accepted his words. "Alright, a month from now. Anyways, who's this girl? And how'd you like the city? I made the genins dress it up for you guys, and I personally inspected it myself," she grinned. Actually, she had only inspected Naruto's side, gladly issuing orders to make the three genins run about and nearly die. She smiled even wider as she remembered how she had made the three of them pick leaves from the forest and scoop water for the waterfall, and made them wash every building wit it so that it could have a balmy water and grassy smell. Supposedly, it was supposed to represent the union of two nations, but of course, Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke knew better.

"This is Rei, and the city was quite interesting actually," he replied. "The east side had flowers and potato chip bags everywhere, the south had bugs and dogs crawling in and of the buildings doing stuff, the north made us think that we had walked into a swamp, with all the water and leaves everywhere, and the west was quite interesting," he smiled. He leaned his back against the chair, and watched, amused, as Tsunade and Shizune cringed.

"Well, that aside," said Tsunade, trying to change the subject. "Did you meet anybody interesting? Like Hiashi of the Hyuuga clan? Or Kakashi of the Sharingan?" she asked.

"Iie," he replied, "but I did meet some very interesting people though," he informed.

"And who might they be?" she asked.

"The team in charge of the west gate," he answered, thinking back tot he team that he had ran into. Of the two guys in green spandex suits and bowl shape haircuts, and of the kid with long, black hair, and milky white eyes, and of the cheerful girl who had two dark, brown buns at the top of her head. "Very interesting people," he repeated.

**Okay, I know this chapter is really bland, and it sucks too, but I'll go back to Neji and Tenten and kind of what happened in the next chapter. So please bare with me. No flames, but please R&R.**


	7. Chapter Six

_I do not own Naruto or any of it's character, I am dirt poor and below even the red zone so please don't sue me._

Fools of Fate

By:Christina/ Aikiko-Ashra

Chapter Six

Tenten stared at herself in the mirror, unconsciously lifting her hand up to touch her lips. She could still remember the night before when his warm lips pressed against hers. It wasn't a french kiss or anything, it was just skin against skin, lips against lips. But just thinking about it made her heart beat faster. Of course, it must've have been an accident though, who knows with it having been so dark and everything. She traced the lining of her lips, wishing that there could have been more to the meaning, but, considering that it was the Hyuuga Neji, it was probably nothing more than an accident. She sighed, he hadn't finished helping her with the electricity. After the "accident" he had gotten up, said sorry, and left. An electricity man (or whatever you call them) had arrived at her house early this morning to fix her electricity, saying that the Hyuuga household had already paid for the expenses. She hoped that what happened wouldn't change their relationship, after it all it wasn't like they hadn't kissed before. The last time though, was a positive hundred percent accident. So nothing would change because this one was an accident too, or it was... Psh... She cursed at herself for trying to form such an idea. Neji was different, he would never do something like that on purpose. She sighed again because of the truth to her words. Sometimes, she really considered giving up on the Hyuuga prodigy, but of course, every time she tried to, there would be something about him that would let him claim her heart again. Ever since she met him, her heart was no longer her own, and she knew it never would be again.

She could hear the loud clamoring that shook outside of her neighborhood, everybody was standing in front of their homes, awaiting the arrival of the Mizukage. She had to catch up with Lee and Gai Sensei soon since they had agreed to watch the parade of people together. Neji would not be there, he would be with the rest of the Hyuuga clan, in front of the Hyuuga compound, one of the few places that the Mizukage would stop by to greet for a moment or two. She sighed. Maybe she could wash the memory of the night before out of her head before she saw him again. She didn't want it to seem like it had affected her or anything. She walked out of her house, entering the road amongst the throng of people that stood there. She raced down the streets. It should be a good thirty minutes before the Mizukage was due to arrive, but people had been standing outside of their home for a close half an hour already. She knew that the peace treaty was really important, and that people were thrilled about the alliance, but standing outside of your house for an hour just to wait was insane. She quickly reached the spot that Gai and Lee had promised to wait at, they were already there, involved in what seemed like a highly enthusiastic conversation.

"Yo! Tenten!" hollered Gai. She walked up next to them, noting the excited and pleased look on their face.

"We have just came up with the most brilliant plan Tenten!" shouted Lee.

"Yes?" she asked, a quizzical brow raised.

"Well, we have decided that since Neji cannot enjoy the day with us, then will we come and enjoy the day with him!" exclaimed Lee, his hair bobbing up and down in accomplishment.

Gai and Lee stared at her expectantly, their eyes wide, expecting to hear absolute praise.

Tenten cringed at the suggestion. Hadn't she just decided that since she wouldn't see the Hyuuga prodigy today she would try to cool off her memory from the night before? How was she going to do that with him so close to her. "We're not seriously going to be jumping into the middle of the Hyuuga clan are we?" she asked. The Hyuuga's would immediately be able to detect if someone was standing among them that was not of their blood. They stood in a complete formation, whether intentional or not, and could tell if somebody stood out of place.

"You'll see," laughed Gai and Lee, their eyes glinting mischievously.

Tenten sighed. Thankfully, they were not standing amidst the sea of Hyuugas, who were all wearing grayish black kimonos, instead they were standing across the street from them.

"Neji! Neji! See we have come for you! Our friendly bond will never break!" hollered Lee to Neji across the street. A vein on the side of Neji's face shook. A lot of the Hyuugas and neighbors had turned their head to look at Neji and Lee, wondering what the boy in the green spandex suit was shouting about. Neji turned his head away from Lee, only to see Tenten. Their eyes locked.

Tenten stared at him observantly, examining the build of his face and body. She remembered the many times her hands ran across his skin, dressing his wounds. He no longer had the boyish look to him. His face had lost all of the baby fat that used to cling to his cheek; it was longer now, older, more handsome. He was lean, and had grown a lot taller. He used to only be a bit taller than her, but now he towered over her; her head only reaching his shoulders. She sighed, breaking their gaze. She removed imaginary hands from the body that stood across from her, not realizing that he still stared at her intently.

He looked at her, surprised. She wore her usual pink Chinese shirt and black capris, but she wasn't wearing her hair in the usual panda buns. Instead she wore it in a sleek, loose ponytail that hung more to her right. Her hair was so long it nearly touched her waist. He suddenly had an urge to run his fingers through her hair. She had matured over the years, taller and considerably a lot more beautiful. She even had a group of boys that used to chase after her, until she nearly butchered them to pieces of course. She looked pretty with her hair down like that. No, beautiful. Suddenly, the occurrences of the night before ran back through his head again. He hoped that she wouldn't treat him differently because of it, that by tomorrow they would spar together again like nothing had happened.

It wasn't until then that he noticed the loud cheers that replaced the gossip, and the sound of the gong clanging down the street. Lee had finally stopped shouting his declaration of friendship to Neji and Gai, and had started to cheer with everybody else. The Mizukage was marching down the street, with about fifteen to twenty men walking close behind him. He wore the usual Kage's suit, a deep (A/N: whatever color it is. I wanted to use blue, but of course the Kazekage's that color, so I don't know. Please tell me if you do) in color.

The Mizukage approached the front of the Hyuuga compound, smiling as he greeted Hiashi. Tenten looked at Neji, noticing that his face had dipped down into a complete frown. After some quick words with Hiashi, the man had turned to talk to Neji. Tenten looked on curiously, and so was Lee, Gai, Hiashi and the rest of the neighborhood. Neji's lips had dropped into an even deeper frown if possible. She wondered what had suddenly made him upset, and she didn't have to wait long. The Mizukage had turned around to face her, Lee, and Gai, and walked over to them. Tenten let in a sharp gasp, a quick gust of air stinging the back of her throat. Lee and Gai were shocked too. Their eyes widened and their jaws, quite literally, fell to the ground. The Mizukage chuckled kindly as he looked at them, the wind brushing against the bangs of his brown hair.

"YO -YOSHIRO!" Lee, Gai, and Tenten bellowed aloud together, in utter surprise. Everybody turned to look at them, wondering why the Mizukage had bothered to stop next to a bunch of ordinary people.

Yoshiro smiled at them, Rei standing by his side. "Hey, been all night since I've last seen you guys," he laughed, hoping to relieve the shocked look on their faces, but it didn't.

"Y-you're the Mizukage! But you said you weren't!" cried Gai, his hand flew to his face. He deflated like a balloon, looking like he was about to faint.

The Mizukage chuckled nervously. "I think we need to find a better time to straighten things out," he suggested.

Lee's mouth was still glued to the floor, his eyes opened wide in disbelief. Tenten's mouth was gaping open too. Too speechless to say anything she merely nodded.

"Wow! Is that you Tenten? You look beautiful with your hair down like that. I almost couldn't recognize you. Here's a kiss for the beautifully shocked lady before I go on again. They always say kisses break the evil spell," he joked, referring to her frozen state. He leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the cheek, causing everybody around to gasp. Neji's eye started to twitch uncontrollably as he viewed the sight. Yoshiro smiled at her and walked away, continuing his journey through the village. Everybody was silent as the Mizukage marched away with his men, but as soon as he was out of earshot, loud gossip filled the streets.

"Oh my god Tenten!" cried Lee, staring at her in horror.

"Did the Mizukage just—" started Gai.

"—kiss you?" finished Lee.

Tenten was speechless. Her hands unconsciously drawing up to her cheek. She pressed her fingers against the warm part of her face that the Mizukage had kissed. Suddenly, realization of what had actually occurred dawned upon her. The heat rose to her face, turning her into a beet red piece of tomato. Had the Mizukage really just kiss her? In front of half of the village? She nearly fainted at the thought.

Neji stared at her, hoping that she realized the Mizukage was only being friendly. Or at least, he better had been. Neji didn't know why but he began to send murderous glares towards Yoshiro. Hinata and Hanabi looked at him, noticing the direction of his evil stares.

_**OMG! This chapter sucked so bad. I'm sorry! I really hope you guys got to visualize how Neji and Tenten really look though, because I don't want you guys to have to be stuck with image of 12 year olds! Please tell me you don't anymore! Tears! Yeah, this chapter, and the rest of the chapters pretty much sucked! But please R&R anyways. Tell me lies that it's actually good, so that I can comfort my tormented soul. (Supposed to look like I'm cryin**_

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_**Please press the purple button and R&R please! And I want to thank Tomboy901 for the reviews! You're awesome!**_


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